New process proposed for ski area maintenance projects

Wachusett Mountain Advisory Council member Kevin Toohey recently suggested that the process that the ski area has to go through to do its maintenance projects on the mountain needs to be reviewed.

Wachusett Mountain Associates submitted their list of maintenance projects to the state in March and was notified on July 28 that the Mass. Historic Commission has reviewed the projects and doesn't have a problem with them.

But that gives WMA only 50 days to complete its work before the September 15 deadline when all work on the mountain must be completed. That deadline is set by the state Department of Conservation and Recreation.

"The way it's set up now is kind of silly," said Toohey, who represents the ski area on the council. "They [WMA] have to submit their list of projects by March 15 then sit and wait for approval, but there's no timetable for conservation commissions or Mass. Historic to respond."

At the July 30 Advisory Council meeting, Toohey suggested a 60-day window for the different agencies to let WMA know if they can proceed with maintenance work.

"We just got notified that we can proceed," said WMA representative Don Stoddard. "So now we're scrambling to get the projects done by September 15."

Stoddard said the ski area submits its list of projects to the DCR by March 15, then meets with the WMAC and the mountain monitoring board at the end of April to discuss the work. The list then is submitted to Mass. Historic for its review. The response from Mass Historic varies, said Stoddard. "Sometimes its been as early as June, but other times as late as August 14, shrinking the window of opportunity to be on the mountain doing the work," he said.

Stoddard said Mass. Historic gets the list after it has been approved by the DCR, usually in May.

"If we could get the approval process narrowed down to a two-month window then the work could be done in the summer when nothing else is going on at the ski area," said Toohey.

"As much has been done on the mountain, doesn't Mass. Historic have all the historic information already," asked WMAC Chairman Tom Sullivan.

Stoddard suggested submitting the project list to Mass Historic in mid-April. "They won't have the benefit of WMAC advice at that point, but their only task is to say whether the work is in a sensitive area," said Stoddard.

The Department of Conservation and Recreation doesn't sign off on the project list until the council has reviewed it, noted state Reservation Supervisor Dwayne Ericson.

Sullivan said the process is part of old documentation that needs to be updated. "It's a tired document. It's 10 years old," he said.

"We just received permission to do our summer work," said David Crowley, General Manager for the Wachusett Mountain Ski area. "It would be better if we could get started earlier in the summer on the maintenance projects, especially when our employees are all here. It would have been great to do the work in April, May or even early June when our employees' kids are still in school. Now everyone is on vacation and we only have 50 days to do the work. We have to hire subcontractors with a drilling rig to dig holes for poles and that takes time."

Surveys underway

In other business, Sullivan told council members that DCR didn't use any of the Mountain Fund money to pay for the land it bought as part of the Bentley land deal in Princeton. DCR acquired approximately 82+ acres of the 168-acre parcel.

"DCR's contribution came from other funds, not the Mountain Fund," said Sullivan.

Approximately $1 million exists in the Mountain Fund, which comes from a percentage of the gross revenue earned each year at the ski area. The money is used to acquire land adjacent to the state reservation.

"The fund is there and growing," said Sullivan. He suggested a subcommittee form and look into whether there are any parcels adjacent to the reservation that should be purchased.

Sullivan said that Whitman & Bingham have been awarded a contract by DCR to do the instrument survey on the reservation to determine boundaries. That survey is part of the lease review and modifications between Wachusett Mountain Associates and the DCR.

At the same time Harvard Forest is resurveying the old growth forest on the mountain. WMA is paying $6,200 for that survey as part of negotiations with the state for the lease agreement.

"It's been almost 10 years since that [old-growth survey] was done," said Ericson. "We're taking the base line we had and expanding it, looking for any changes that have taken place as part of the ecological analysis. This will be a 10-year plan."